A former soldier who murdered his nextdoor neighbours with a commando dagger after a dispute over parking has been told he will serve at least 38 years in prison before being considered for parole.
Collin Reeves carried out a “deliberate and brutal” attack on Jennifer and Stephen Chapple at their home in the Somerset village of Norton Fitzwarren while their two children slept upstairs, moments after his wife had told him she wanted a trial separation.
Sentencing Reeves, 35, to two life sentences, at Bristol crown court, the judge, Mr Justice Garnham said the killings came after a “minor tiff” over parking and had “torn the heart out of two perfectly normal, decent families”.
He said Reeves “invaded” the Chapples’ home and the attacks had been “deliberate and brutal”, adding: “You left [the Chapples] on the floor bleeding to death, and all of the time their two children were asleep upstairs.
“Your murderous behaviour left them orphans. They were put to bed that night by their parents and they would never see them again. The harm you did those two innocent children is incalculable.”
Garnham said Reeves had inflicted enormous damage on his own daughters, who will now grow up without their father. He said he accepted Reeves had moderate depression but added: “You were sound of mind and you bear full responsibility.”
Reeves stabbed Jennifer Chapple, a 33-year-old cafe worker, and Stephen Chapple, 36, a teacher, six times each using a dagger he had been presented with when he left the army.
In emotional victim statements, members of the Chapples’ family described their torment and the agony of seeing the children left without parents.
Marie Chapple, Stephen’s sister, said: “Two precious boys have been left without a mother and father at such a young age. I spend my days trying to keep their memory alive so they never forget them, never forget how loved they were.”
She said she was balancing her career with being a single parent to the boys. “Every day I feel guilty for everything I do with them that they should be doing with their parents,” she said.
Ann Clayton, Jennifer’s mother, said she felt she was “living in a horror movie that is on an infinite loop”.
She continued: “To know that your grandsons are now growing up without the two most important people in their lives creates a rage and anger that is like a fire. Jennifer lived for her children. She loved them with all her being. They will never know what it is like to hug her, snuggle her, get bedtime kisses from her again.
“He had no right to do this to Jennifer and Stephen. His depraved actions that night left a tragic legacy that will remain with us for ever. We have received the ultimate life sentence.”
Rhonda Godley, Jennifer’s sister, said the Chapples were wonderful parents. “They should still be here looking after [the children], tucking them into bed at night, reading bedtime stories and easing their little minds of any worries.”
She said they told the children what had happened three days after the murders and she would never forget the cry of the older child. At the wake after the funeral, she said the boys seemed to be waiting for them to arrive.
Godley said: “I told them [their parents] would always be watching them, just to look out for the rainbows and they’re there. And at night look out at the sky and they’re in the stars too.”
During the trial, Reeves claimed he was traumatised by a violent childhood and his time in Afghanistan.
Reeves’ barrister, Jo Martin QC, read out a statement from his brother, Gareth Reeves, who was also in the army. He said: “You are made to be a soldier, you are never willing to seek help for your mental health.”
Reeves claimed he was triggered into action by the bright white of the Chapples’ security light flashing on, reminding him of flares in a war zone. He described witnessing colleagues being brought back from patrols horrifically wounded. He said after his tour he had not been given time to “decompress”.
In a highly unusual step, after sentence was passed Reeves’ mother, Lynn, stood up in court and blamed her son’s conviction on failings by the two psychiatrists who assessed him. She said his pleas to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility should have been accepted.
